Holding Pubs to Account

[alanywiseman.]

Recently I have got into listening to a few podcasts. A perticular favorite is the Homebrewed Chef on the Brewing Network. Mr Paxton frequently goes on about holding resturants and pub to account for the serving of there beer. So I tried to do that last night.

I went out for a wee drink and ordered a Deuchers IPA, a very nice drink when serviced right. After having a my first drink I noticed things were not right. There was little hop aroma or taste and a very promanent buttery taste. I can not say why it might be there but it was not right. I told the staff and the manager tasted the beer, gave me a dirty look and said it was fine as if I was a complete idiot.

Unfortunetly I could not leave and take my money else where as I was there for someone else but I was left very ****** off. Has anyone complained to a bar about the storage/serving of there pint? How did they react? Can anyone explain why there was a buttery taste?

 

[The Goatreich]

A buttery taste can be attributed to diacetyl created during fermentation. I'm not sure why it would be there in this brew when it ordinarily isn't.

I had a pint of Brains IPA smooth in a pub the other night, and it was absolutely rank, with a definitely hint of cider. I'm fairly sure that it was completely down to bad beer management at the pub rather than the beer itself being at fault.....and no I didn't say anything, it was the roughest pub I've been in for many years.

 

[ScottM]

A few years back I complained about a pint of lager in a bar I drink in quite often. It tasted VERY eggy and really wasn't at all pallatable. I had a few sips and decided that I just couldn't hack it, my mate was the same, so we went up to the bar. Told the girl behind the bar what the issue was and she looked at us like we had horns on and as if we were at it. I had been in that pub many many times throughout the years and not once complained about anything, so it's not as if they saw me as a chancer or anything.

Anyway, stood my ground and said it was just undrinkable. Got her to smell it and she eventually relented and asked what we wanted instead, stuck to the bottled beer after that.

I'm positive it was the dispensing that was at fault, either the lines or the storage of the lager was at fault.

Anytimes I have issues in a pub I simply stop drinking there. I've had quite a few apologies over the years as I tend to be quite faithful in going to certain pubs and I give them a fair whack of cash, not to mention my friends all drink together and if I dont' drink there, neither do they.

Hurt their pocket and they will soon take your concerns seriously.

 

[simonlpearce]

On the odd occasion i have had a bad pint and complained, i cant say i have ever had any issues. One place even changed the barrel as they agreed that something wasn't right.

 

[cwiseman77]

Being a regular Guinness drinker I've often to send pints back for being pored incorrectly....5 pours, poured like a cask ale, spilling down the glass. I never used to but SWMBO is Irish (with 10 years bar experience) so backs me up :thumb:

Just last week I went to pub and ordered a pint of Harviston's Bitter & Twisted, which it definately was not. I'm almost sure it was Schiehallion...on this occasion I didn't complain as i also like Sciehallion and is usually a quid more a pint :party:

p.s. on the whole it depends on the pub/bar and the staff. If it's a pub that sells cask ales and the staff know their **** they'll be more than happy to sort you out. If your on Sauchihall street on a Saturday night or a rough scheme pub I wouldn't bother

 

[wilsoa1111]

i would also agree it is very pub style dependant on if its worth a punt- wetherspoons in particular are so variable (esp the server) i can never decide wether to bother with their (ridiculus numbers of) ale or not, sometimes its spot on mostly its going off or just plain nasty-ive had cheese, sour and even meaty pints off them so about 50-50-never bothered to complain as the line's about 15minutes and i suspect the answer would include sod, off and possibly student also at that price what do u expect-and basically it evens out :lol:

 

[31bb3]

I've go to say if I have a bad pint I always take it back and in all honesty I've always had another one in replacement no questions

 

[sledgehammer]

i recently went to a local bub (owned by a chain)
i had a pint of brains (cant remember which one it was) but it tasted terrible so i took it back i was drawn off another taster so i could check it again but still tasted bad so i was then offered a different drink
well done to the pubs that listen to there customers where not all trying to pull a fast one on you we just want a good pint

steve

 

[alanywiseman.]

Glad to see I am not the only one to raise issues.

A buttery taste can be attributed to diacetyl created during fermentation. I'm not sure why it would be there in this brew when it ordinarily isn't.

It was strange but it was not the IPA that i am used to. I did not expect it from Deuchers.

If your on Sauchihall street on a Saturday night or a rough scheme pub I wouldn't bother

If I was on Sauchihall Street I would have said nothing however I was on Gibson Street and not in The Left Bank but the other one! It is not a ale pub it caters more to the masses but it is not a cheap place to drink and for the price I would have expected nicer service. I am not complaining that they did not agree with me but the way I was handeled was not on. I will avoid going there in the future.

I do agree though that if I was somewhere that prided itself on its real ales I am sure my comments would have be better listened to.

 

[calumscott]

Most of the pubs that I would drink in are pubs that may not necessarily be "known real ale pubs" but all have landlords/ladies who are passionate about making sure the beverages served to each segment of their clientele are the way they should be.

So they might only have a couple of real ales but they are always cellared extremely well and moreover, they will always serve you a sample before you buy a pint if you want, and will generally never question if you call a pint "iffy" and simply pour you a pint of whatever else you fancy.

But then that's me, I like my beer which makes me gravitate to the kind of pubs run by people who also like their beer.

If I was questioned (in an off hand manner at least) when rejecting a pint, I would not hesitate to remove my custom and warn others of an inhospitable landlord/lady.

It's hard enough for the pubs who do things right, support them and not the ones that don't. The market for pub drinking is shrinking, it is right that those who don't look after their beer and don't look after their customers should be the first to the wall.

Oh, and I'm not saying that bad beer is always the fault of the landlord/landlady/pub/cellar - sometimes with a living product it just happens, we accept that. What I won't accept though is a barperson who will not at the very least chalk it up as wastage which they may well be compensated for by the brewery if the beer is indeed bad.

Note to publicans: the cost of a ****** off customer is WAY higher than the cost of tipped pint.

 

[no1troyboy]

hi guys can i say as an ex landlord iv worked in bars for many years and im 1 of 6 generations of pub landlords just never owned my own pub. if somethings not right with your pint you should always say something i know we brew our own my local changes his beer every time so one off different one on he cleans his lines after every barrel have had some very nice pints and when i finish brewing mine i always take a couple of bottles to the pub for all the boys to try. 99% of the time when your pints not right its the person poring it as they don't know what there doing and haven't got a clue on how to pore a pint be it larger, Guinness,or a real ale as a rule if i go int a new pub i always ask whats good and with Guinness or larger if any have been pulled off as when its sat in the lines its normally rank that's were you get your eggy taste in your larger as the line hasn't had any pulled off its been sitting in the for quite a few hours even over night so im a great beleaver in if something not right with your pint say something dont just put up with it beer in a pub isnt cheep any more and your paying over 3 or £4 a pint nowadays so dont be afraid just say something its your right to complain : :

 

[Andyhull]

I've go to say if I have a bad pint I always take it back and in all honesty I've always had another one in replacement no questions

Same here :thumb:

 

[Russ146]

i always refuse lager served in a beer glass

without the etched bottom It goes flat in seconds and taste **** and i'm not paying £4 for a pint of flat lager

Paying pub prices i expect San miguel in a san miguel glass, Fosters in a fosters glass, Stella in a stella glass and the same with beers.

I once refused a pint of Guinness served in a Stella Chalice. If pubs cant get these things right there not much of a pub.

 

[Teenage Kicks]

I once refused a pint of Guinness served in a Stella Chalice.

i would refuse anything served in a glass that SWMBO says looks like it would "make a nice vase"

 

[no1troyboy]

i always refuse lager served in a beer glass

without the etched bottom It goes flat in seconds and taste **** and i'm not paying £4 for a pint of flat lager

Paying pub prices i expect San miguel in a san miguel glass, Fosters in a fosters glass, Stella in a stella glass and the same with beers.

I once refused a pint of Guinness served in a Stella Chalice. If pubs cant get these things right there not much of a pub.

i totaly agree with you there and if some one gave me a guinness in a stella glass id go nuts but waight for them to poor it then tell them i want a fresh one in the propper glass

 

[Gayle]

OH is fussy about pints of Guiness but I've never known him to complain to the bar staff if he gets a badly poured one - next time I will make him :whistle: Sometimes the staff have let them sit for ages and it loses all head, or haven't let it sit long anough and there's no head at all, some very messy ones with drink all pouring over the sides or - gasp - a plastic pint "glass" :shock: (in a bar in one case, not even outside). I can only imagine the looks we'd get from bar staff if we complained the drink wasn't in the "right" glass, don't pubs just buy their glasses from the pound shops?

I used to work in a chinese restaurant and we had Harp on draught. It was hit and miss, usually miss. The pipes were meant to be cleaned regularly but it was hardly ever done, and the manager didn't let us just "pour off the first one" that had been sitting in the pipes at the start of the evening. We had quite a few people return their pints because they were flat or otherwise horrible, and we always offered them something else or their money back. TBH we didn't exactly have training or anything, we were just teenagers who managed to get some booze into glasses and eventually we got quite good at it, but the customers might have been happier if we'd had training in the first place .... you should have seen us changing our first kegs!

You can exercise your rights with alcohol in the same way as you would with food - if you weren't happy with your meal you'd probably complain and get money off or whatever. If you can't drink your drink then why pay for it?! (As long as you complain before you drink it all, we did have one guy in the restaurant who drank 3 pints before declaring that they were all horrible and he wanted his money back. Why did you drink 3 off them??? :wha: )

 

[DirtyCaner]

If I get a bad pint I'll take it back and complain without a second thought.

A few years ago I was in Wetherspoons in Sheffield with a pal. The barman told us they were doing a special, pints of Ruddles 99p. Sounded good at the time (too good?), so we ordered two pints, sat down to browse the menu and see what we were going to eat. I took one swig of my pint and my disgust must have been obvious as my pal asked me what was wrong. "Taste that?", I said and watched as he tried his pint. His faced contorted instantly and he spat it back into the glass.

So we went back up the bar and explained to the barman that the beer was disgusting and asked if he would swap it for something else as there was no way we could drink it. He sniffed my pint, tried some from the tap and declared it fine. "But it's minging, mate!", I said. He replied, "I'm sorry, its fine. Besides, these guys here have been drinking it all afternoon." We looked over to the group on our right. I'm not the kind of guy to judge people by looking at them. But I'm fairly sure I can recognise a group of tramps when I see one. We looked at each other and burst out laughing, and walked out... :rofl:

DirtyC

 

[wezil]

Could be down to dirty pipes, and bad storage! On the other hand I once had a pint that smelt of chlorine (which I thought was someone back from swimming, till I took a big swig)!

 

[cask is best]

i always refuse lager served in a beer glass

without the etched bottom It goes flat in seconds and taste **** and i'm not paying £4 for a pint of flat lager

Paying pub prices i expect San miguel in a san miguel glass, Fosters in a fosters glass, Stella in a stella glass and the same with beers.

I once refused a pint of Guinness served in a Stella Chalice. If pubs cant get these things right there not much of a pub.

Thank God someone else feels the same about Lager glass when ordered Guinness etc etc. I have never refused it but i have to turn the glass around so i cannot see the emblem on the glass. My lad thinks I'm nuts.
Re bad pints i can't say i have had one for years now, maybe because i drink only in real ale pubs who look after their ale and not big chain electric nitrous only pubs.
If I'm unsure about a ale i ask the server for advice and then ask for a sample always get one no questions asked and like most on here if i got quizzed from a landlord or employee in a way i did not like my action would be to miss said certain pub out in future on my tours.

 

[alanywiseman.]

I can not believe that some people have been served Guiness in a lager glass :shock: That is nuts!!!

It is good to see that a number of people have been listened to when complaining/questioning about the quality of there pint and with things as they are it is these places that will survive.

I have been one to complain about food as it is something i know a little about but my beer knowledge has been lacking. With me now homebrewing (while not producing the best pints currently I am getting a taste for many fo the off flavours :lol: ) I feel more confident to complain/question the qualitiy of the pint I am given.

The next stage, at least for myself, is to start questioning th nice resturants that have a large wine list but a very rubbish beer list (which usually consists of 5 different lagers and no real ales). These places should be able to at least stock the best of britsh ales. If they could do that I am sure it would help out the industry and mean that we would have the chioce of have a decent wine or ale with our meals as opposed to a decent wine or pint od cat ****!

Stepping off my soap box now